Welcome once more to THT…Before we get to the nitty gritty and this list of “The Greatest”… a word from myself…
Sometimes researching these kind of lists are tough, there are teams, I feel should be there, but cold, hard logic doesn’t allow them into the top 5…. Case in point (and topical to boot…) The Rockers…
According to WWF “Official History” The Rockers were never Tag Team Champions, in reality they did pick up the belts by beating the Hart Foundation in 1990… Due to a “Rope Malfunction” the title change was never offically acknowledged… I love the Rockers, they are my greatest ever team, especially after RAW this week..but they can never be in this list… So if you don’t agree with my picks…argue your case…but logic and reality, not sentiment and love will win…
Without
and without further ado, the list you have been waiting for…
5: The Hart Foundation
The Hart Foundation were the quintessential “Odd Couple” in the ring, you had Bret “Hitman” Hart, known for his technical precision and mercurial talent and Jim “Anvil” Neidhart… a true powerhouse… their styles perfectly complimented each other… Their first World Title reign came at the expense of family members…namely the British Bulldogs… In the late 1980’s the Foundation was the epitome of the “cohesive unit”, their work was tight, clean and very entertaining, the fans loved that they could be “bad” but cool at the same time…even wearing Pink… By late 1990 the Hart’s were good guys, though by this stage it was clear Bret was destined for Greater things… Jim…well he played a crucial role in the development of another Hart family member… Would Owen Hart have made it to the level he did without his “New Foundation” introduction?
The Foundation deserve this place for success achieved, and promise never fulfilled… Bret’s solo potential arguably killed what could have been the definitive Tag Team…
4: Edge & Christian
“For Those with the benefit of Flash Photography…” We have #4 in our list and a crucial entry to the greatest teams ever… Why were E & C so good? Arguably in part it is due to the fact that these are two childhood friends, packaged as brothers… Adam Copeland and Jay Reso are brothers…in all but blood, they went to school, learned to wrestle and eventually teamed together… That kind of tightness cannot be bought or practised… From the early days as “The Brood” to the more madcap days of TLC their “synergy” led to some of the greatest tag matches ever… Both have since gone on to real success in the singles ranks…yet they could still after three years apart, reunite without missing a step… Go back and watch the tapes, these guys are what tag wrestling is all about…
3 TIE: Demoliton/The British Bulldogs
This will seem like a copout, but this list has 6 teams… Why is it so hard to decide? Let’s take each team…
Demolition, on the surface were the WWF’s answer the the Road Warriors… they looked similar, acted the same and liked to show their tounges… What set Demoliton apart however, was their unique gimmick, developed during the early 1990’s. The 3 man unit… Ax and Smash were excellent wrestlers and champions, despite the “it was Brian Adams” jibes, Crush added an element not yet bettered in Tag Team action… Demoliton were the team with the advantage, they could activate any 2 members at will to fit their opponents… but…their greatness is not alone…
The tied team here are The British Bulldogs, tied because in terms of gimmick and impact they meant the same… In the mid 1980’s, the WWF worked on racial sterotypes…Davey Boy and Dynamite fitted that perfectly, add in a fan friendly sidekick in Matlida then put in a dash of the most innovative (and to that date unseen in the US) ring style and you have equally special championship material… Both teams have a legacy in WWE today, The Bashams are so much like Demolition it is hard to see why Vince didn’t get them to just wear the makeup and bring back the Demo’s… Likewise, Chris Benoit would not be where he is without the Dynamite Kid, and Davey Boy Smith paved the way for todays model..Randy Orton and Batista…guys with athleticism, but built like the proverbial brick s***house…
2: The New Age Outlaws
“Oh You Didn’t Know?”…what started out as a joke became almost the most important tag team in WWF history… Rockabilly and Jesse Jammes, two lame wrestlers with lame gimmicks…or so it seemed… Thrown together they are the best advertisment for the “X-Factor” wrestling has seen in the last 10 years… Who would have thought Brian Armstrong would become “The D-O Double G..” or the one time “Smokin” Billy Gunn would be best known as (Mr) Ass….
What made these guys so great?… they came up with it on their own… They were opening match…but through their own genius forced their way into the main event and the biggest faction the WWF had seen to date, D-X… As a team they complimented each other, Road Dogg’s showy, Dusty Rhodes like style and Gunn’s brawling/techincal groundwork… The intangible was clearly Road Dogg… his opening monolouges would fire up audiences to the level that both mens deficiencies in the ring were masked.. As champions they ruled, not out of their pure skill, but out of their sheer attitude… We have not seen champions of their like since….
And now…the Greatest WWF Tag Team Champions ever…
1: Davey Boy Smith & Owen Hart
Many will cry foul… How can Davey Boy be top again…but listen and you will understand…
What makes this team stand out above all others? First you have the two greatest tag team wrestlers of the last 20 years together…FACT…but no… Is it that they were part of one of the most effective Stables ever? No… There are two simple truths that set DBS and Owen from the pack….
First their achievement, and let’s not understate this… not only were they the Tag Team Champions, but both were Singles Champions to boot… Davey Boy held the European Title, Owen the Intercontinental Champion… Their domination was unrivalled in history or since… Pretty much no one held a title in WWE without going through one of them…. For a tag team, an unprecedented feat… The second reason is their ring work…again, go back and watch them work together… Every match, every nuance of their ringwork made them look like “The Perfect Team”, Wrestling has never seen a team since, even if you hated “The Hart Foundation” and Canada you would want to see Owen and Davey wrestle together one more time… If one phrase summed this team up it was simply this…”Poetry In Motion”….
Well those are the top 5/6… Honorable mentions go to The Legion Of Doom (controversial, but their WWF reigns meant absoulutely nothing in the long run…) , The Quebeccers, Strike Force and The Dream Team… Oh and The Rockers…but I said that already lol…
I missed out some teams many will think essential… Rock and Sock are not of the caliber required, the Dudley Boyz one step behind…
As ever, if you strongly disagree, tell me at robwilltaylor@hotmail.com…. Next we go to the greatest ever WCW World Champions!
